National Petition To The President And Congress: Invest In Jobs, Not Cuts

The 2012 elections are over, and the American people have spoken. We voted for strengthening the middle class and putting people back to work—not for job-killing budget cuts and attacks on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

Voters rejected cutting Social Security, health care and education to pay for tax breaks for the rich. “We’re all in this together” defeated “You’re on your own.”

As you face urgent budget decisions over the next two months, you must keep the election results in mind and resist budget cuts that slow our economy and hurt families. The best way to reduce the deficit is to put people back to work and get our economy going again. That’s why we are calling on national leaders from both parties to stand up for the middle class and demand that any budget agreement:

Asks all Americans to pay their fair share of taxes. The Bush tax cuts for people making more than $250,000 a year must not be extended. We need to grow the economy from the middle out, not the top down.

Prioritizes job creation first. It’s time to grow—not slow—the economy. Any budget agreement must include investments in good jobs, education and infrastructure improvements.

Does not cut Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security benefits and does not shift costs to beneficiaries or the states. Millions of seniors, children, people with disabilities and others depend on these vital programs, and they must not be cut. Voters loudly and clearly spoke up for these programs.

Protects the safety net and vital services for low-income people. We should not allow the fiscal burden to be shifted to the poor and working families who have borne a disproportionate share of the nation’s economic pain in recent years.

Stops the sequester. The scheduled automatic budget cuts threaten our fragile recovery and put huge numbers of people out of work while cutting education, child care, job training and dozens of vital services people and communities need.

Add your name!

Thanks for signing the national petition!

By signing, you’ll also receive occasional alerts about important progressive issues. We hate spam too and take your privacy seriously.

All fields are required

Elected officials from both parties need to heed the will of the voters in the lame duck and focus on rebuilding the middle class and strengthening our economy by investing in jobs, not cuts. We will forcefully oppose any budget deal that puts working families and the economic recovery in jeopardy.

List of signers

Richard Trumka, President, AFL-CIO

Lee Saunders, President, AFSCME

LeeAnn Hall, Executive Director, Alliance for a Just Society

Barbara Easterling, President, Alliance for Retired Americans

Robert Borosage and Roger Hickey, Co-Directors, Campaign for America’s Future

Deepak Bhargava, Executive Director, Center for Community Change

Deborah Weinstein, Executive Director, Coalition on Human Needs

Larry Cohen, President, Communications Workers of America

Lawrence Mishel, President, Economic Policy Institute

Rev. Jennifer Butler, Executive Director, Faith in Public Life

Ana Garcia-Ashley, Executive Director, Gamaliel

Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins, CEO, Green for All

Ethan Rome, Executive Director, Health Care for America Now

Sarita Gupta, Executive Director, Jobs with Justice/American Rights at Work

Brian Kettenring, Executive Director, Leadership Center for the Common Good

Wade Henderson, President and CEO, Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

Justin Ruben, Executive Director, MoveOn.org

Benjamin Todd Jealous, President and CEO, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)

Max Richtman, President and CEO, National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare

Ai-jen Poo, Executive Director, National Domestic Workers Alliance

Dennis Van Roekel, President, National Education Association

George Goehl, Executive Director, National People’s Action

Leslie Moody, Executive Director, Partnership for Working Families

Angela Glover Blackwell, CEO, PolicyLink

Van Jones, President, Rebuild the Dream

Mary Kay Henry, International President, Service Employees International Union

Take Action

The United States and our allies have agreed to extend talks with Iran over the future of their nuclear program....I plan to continue to lead the effort in the Senate to support the negotiations and urge my colleagues to resist efforts to pass new sanctions …

A joint website of MoveOn.org Civic Action and MoveOn.org Political Action.

MoveOn.org Civic Action is a 501(c)(4) organization which primarily focuses on nonpartisan education and advocacy on important national issues. MoveOn.org Political Action is a federal political committee which primarily helps members elect candidates who reflect our values through a variety of activities aimed at influencing the outcome of the next election. MoveOn.org Political Action and MoveOn.org Civic Action are separate organizations.